Accuracy: 7 m (22 ft)

Click on any of the images for the full-sized picture.

18-Jul-2003 -- German narrative On this day I gave up my initial plan to try 69 N - 22 E again because of the expierences I had made with my legs three days before at 63 N - 12E.
This is why I spontaneousely tried the clearly shorter tour to 70 N - 27 E:

Back on the E6 on the norwegian side, driving towards Utsjoki, I passed the 27th longtitude, about 3 kilometers before Utsjoki.
On the right side (south) you see the Tana river in a valley. On the left side (north) there was nothing but steep uphill, so I had to turn around and drive back a little.

At a valley floor, where a small brook begins, I saw the best possibility to start this tour.
Starting position was N 69° 56.216 - E 26° 59.070, altitude about 80 meters.
This point of intersection is located about 7 kilometers almost due north.
I started my tour at about 5 p.m.
For the first kilometer this trail let me constantly uphill through thick bushes and woodland.

All at once, at about 300 m altitude the woodland was gone. Every now and then there were only a few birch tree-bushes left to be seen.
The rest of the track proceeded on reasonably even ground on the fjell-area.
Low to the ground tresses-plants and single waterholes- and sandholes were to be discovered on my way.
I turned off my GPS-device and moved exactly north along the 27th longtitude¸ using my compass.

A wonderful hike with nice wheather at about 25°C and very good visibility.
It became exiting again when I switched my GPS-device back on: Only
400 meters left to my first 70th lattitude point on land and therefore almost exactly 2222 km away from the north pole!

The point itself is situated in a little hollow area, elevation 333 meters.
It was shortly after 8 p.m. My break and taking the pictures took about 30 minutes.
From a little rise fifty meters away you could see (picture nr 5) the radio-tower at Utjoki, at a distance of about 10 kilometers.
A little unspectacular but that´s just the way it is. Many times the trip to and from the points are more spectacular than the point itself.

At about 11p.m. I was back at my starting point and the sun was still shining!
I drove back 4 kilometers to Utsjoki on this Friday evening and enjoyed a few cold „LAPIN KULTA OLUT“ (finnish beer) while listening to a „live-band.“
A cool conclusion to a nice day of discovery.